back to news
10/04/2008
Construction work has started on a new, highly sustainable affordable housing scheme in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Designed by Cartwright Pickard Architects and developed by Yorkshire Housing Group, Outwood Ghost will be one of the first developments in the UK to achieve Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes – the new national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new housing.
It will bring a brownfield site back to life, creating a development with lasting appeal and its own distinctive identity to enhance the local area.
Scheduled for completion in Spring 2009, the £4m scheme will provide 24 semi-detached three and four-bed houses, arranged in two crescents, for rent and shared ownership, helping to meet the high demand for affordable housing in the area. It is being built by Edge Construction.
Each of the homes will benefit from a private garden and a range of sustainable features to help reduce energy consumption. These include:
• roof-mounted solar thermal panels to generate hot water
• a highly insulated building envelope
• large picture windows to maximise natural light
• sun spaces/winter gardens with a heat recovery system to redistribute warm air around the house.
There will be extensive attractive landscaping and ‘Home Zone’ areas to the front of the houses, giving pedestrians and cyclists priority and helping to create a safe and secure environment. An area of natural woodland known locally as the ‘Plump’ will be preserved, and integrated into the ecological landscaping around the scheme.
Jimm Reed, Senior Development Project Manager for Yorkshire Housing Group, said, “This is an exciting project which demonstrates the practical methods needed to achieve the next steps in sustainable development. Housebuilders will be able to take valuable lessons from our experience in achieving the higher levels of sustainability that will be required for future developments.
“We have worked with the local community to respect the heritage and history of the site and the surrounding woodland. This is a good example of how housing schemes can integrate with the surrounding environment.”
Peter Cartwright, Director of Cartwright Pickard Architects, said, “This scheme demonstrates how housing providers are increasingly having to develop difficult sites – in this case with a series of coal seams below it – in order to provide high quality housing and meet the target for delivering 200,000 new homes in Yorkshire – the highest allocation in the UK.”
“Outwood Ghost will create a thriving new community, without the appearance of conventional affordable housing, and minimising any impact on the environment with the use of sustainable, renewable technologies. This scheme will also set the standard for future housing developments to achieve.”
The scheme is funded by the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships, and is sponsored by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.
back to news